Typically, snoring while sleeping occurs in an individual who, due to his own physiology, is pre-disposed to snore upon the relaxation of various musculature around and about the individual's face and neck region, which in turn creates a set of conditions wherein a flap of tissue located in the individual's throat is caused to vibrate in synchronization with that individual's breathing. Generally, snoring tends to occur in individuals while in deep sleep at which point in time the individual's facial musculature has relaxed to the extent that said individual's jaw is moved backward.
The occurrence of snoring in many individuals can become so pronounced as to cause considerable annoyance to that individual's bedmate, even to the extreme of causing loss of sleep to such a bedmate. The problems caused by a sleeping individual's pronounced snoring have also been known to result in serious relationship disruptions, which go well beyond the loss of sleep.
There are several types of sleep apnea but in each type people with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep. In sleep apnea, a person's brain will briefly arouse the person from sleep in order for them to resume breathing. This results in a fragmented and poor quality sleep. An untreated sleep apnea can cause cardiovascular disease, memory problems, weight gain, stroke, headaches and high blood pressure. Sleep apnea is very common in the U.S. and can occur at any age but special risk factors include being male, overweight, and over forty years old.
Snoring is a typical symptom of individuals who experience sleep apnea. Snoring commonly occurs when an individual's musculature around the face and neck region relaxes and the jaw moves back toward the throat. Snoring cannot only be detrimental to the individual but also to the individual's bedmate.
Consequently, the alleviation of sleep apnea and snoring in a sleeping individual has been a long sought goal for many years.
Therefore, a need exists for a support pillow that maintains a user's head and jaw at a predetermined angle while sleeping to prevent sleep apnea and/or snoring.
The relevant prior art includes the following references:
Patent No.InventorIssue/Publication DateRE17,607LangeFeb. 25, 19304,688,285RobertsAug. 25, 19875,933,890CoddAug. 10, 19996,671,907ZuberiJan. 6, 20046,745,418Turner, Jr.Jun. 8, 20046,966,088HuNov. 22, 2005D575,566Berke et al.Aug. 26, 20088,176,586Berke et al.May 15, 2012JP2003-339504N/ADec. 2, 2003